


The Missing Piece

by iamtheenemy (Steph)



Category: HIStory3 - 圈套 | HIStory3: Trapped (TV)
Genre: Caretaking, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious!Shao Fei, Oh Shao Fei, Protectiveness, Tang Yi Loves Shao Fei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:42:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25151827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steph/pseuds/iamtheenemy
Summary: Meng Shao Fei isn't always the most observant person.“Tang Yi, I thought you didn’t like Coke,” Shao Fei asked. He gestured with the bottle and took a long sip.Tang Yi barely glanced up from his work. “I don’t,” he replied.“Then why is your refrigerator full of it?” Shao Fei pressed. When Tang Yi didn’t respond, Shao Fei shook his head. “What a waste of money, to buy something that you won’t even drink. Good thing I’m here.”
Relationships: Meng Shaofei/Tang Yi
Comments: 15
Kudos: 378





	The Missing Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Meng Shao Fei and Zhao Zi are my favorite clueless police officers.

1.

Meng Shao Fei had been on self-assigned protection duty for Tang Yi for less than two days, and he already had a badly bruised back and an equally bruised ego from it. Every time they passed each other in the spacious mansion, Zuo Hong Ye either glared at him suspiciously or smirked at him smugly, depending on her mood. Shao Fei hadn’t expected a welcome parade, but you’d think she’d be a little bit grateful that he was trying to keep her beloved brother safe.

On the second night, Tang Yi sat on his wide, plush couch doing some work on his iPad while Shao Fei messed around on his phone and tried to stave off his boredom. Apparently being a gang boss involved far more replying to emails than Shao Fei imagined. The day had been slow, and Shao Fei had no tolerance for sitting still. He was like a shark, if he stopped moving, he’d die.

That plus the memory of Tang Yi massaging the ointment into his back yesterday, his big hands surprisingly adept at loosening the hard, painful knot of muscles around his injury, had Shao Fei on edge.

He’d already taken advantage of Tang Yi’s personal fitness center and even finished his paperwork for the day. The Chief might have been against him doing this, but Shao Fei had finished more reports in the last day than he had in the previous year.

With a sigh and a stretch, he pushed off of the couch and wandered away from Tang Yi, until he reached the kitchen. Idly, he opened the refrigerator and grinned when he saw several bottles of Coke lining one shelf. He grabbed one and twisted off the cap, tossing it in the trash on his way out.

“Tang Yi, I thought you didn’t like Coke,” Shao Fei asked. He gestured with the bottle and took a long sip.

Tang Yi barely glanced up from his work. “I don’t,” he replied.

“Then why is your refrigerator full of it?” Shao Fei pressed. When Tang Yi didn’t respond, Shao Fei shook his head. “What a waste of money, to buy something that you won’t even drink. Good thing I’m here.”

“Mm,” Tang Yi said.

* * *

2.

Shao Fei couldn’t believe he was spending money on _another_ fancy suit. He still had the first one sitting untouched in his apartment, but Tang Yi made it clear that the style wouldn’t be appropriate for the function he was dragging Shao Fei to.

As Tang Yi’s protection, he had to be there, but he very much doubted he could file an expense report for the cost of a suit from Tang Yi’s shop. He remembered how much he spent on the last one. But if this was Tang Yi’s newest ploy to get Shao Fei off his tail, then he was going to be disappointed. Shao Fei planned to hold his nose and pay whatever exorbitant price was required.

He met the tailor early on a Wednesday morning and just agreed to whatever the woman said to get it over with and say goodbye to his money as quickly and painlessly as possible.

An hour later, when he handed over his credit card to pay, he was shocked to find that this new suit cost less than half of what the other one did.

“What the hell?” he asked as he stared at the numbers on the screen.

The tailor blinked at him. “Is there something you’d like to change?” she asked. “We could go with a different style…”

“No, no, no!” Shao Fei said, hastily cutting her off. “This is great. Thank you.”

* * *

3.

The restaurant that Shao Fei took Tang Yi to was near the precinct and had the best soup dumplings in all of Taipei. It was a bit rundown and not at all the type of place that the super rich gangster was accustomed to, but he gave Shao Fei a smile that said he was humoring him when he asked. Shao Fei wasn’t above milking the still-healing gunshot wound in his abdomen to gain concessions, and Tang Yi seemed to know it.

“I could make you soup dumplings,” Tang Yi argued as they waited in line at the counter to order.

“But I want you to try _these_ ,” Shao Fei said. The person in front of them finished, and Shao Fei stepped up, ready to order two of everything for Tang Yi to try. The man behind the counter was about his age or a little younger, and when he saw them, he did a double take.

“Hello, welcome!” he greeted them with a wide, bright smile as he leaned forward over the till. “How can I help you gentlemen?”

Shao Fei didn’t roll his eyes, but it was a close thing. After four years of following Tang Yi, Shao Fei was used to people fawning over his perfectly tailored suits and obscenely handsome face. And it wasn't like Shao Fei had a leg to stand on when it came to resisting Tang Yi’s charms anyway.

Shao Fei ignored the man’s smitten expression and ordered their food. When the total was tallied up, Shao Fei reached into his back pocket to grab his wallet, but as he did, Tang Yi brandished a credit card.

“Tang Yi!” Shao Fei cried. “I’m paying for this!”

He tried to snatch the card away, but Tang Yi was too quick for him, darting his arm out of the way. After a few seconds of useless scuffling, the man behind the counter put his hand on Shao Fei’s wrist, the touch surprising Shao Fei into stillness. He stared down at it in confusion and then up at the man, who gave him a squeeze before pulling back.

“Let him,” the man said and snatched the card from Tang Yi before Shao Fei could stop him.

As they went to find a table and wait for their food, Shao Fei couldn’t stop grumbling.

“He just did that because he likes you,” he told Tang Yi.

“Oh?” Tang Yi answered, his lips twitching minutely.

This time Shao Fei _did_ roll his eyes. “Please, how could you have missed that lovesick look on his face?” he asked. “It was obvious.”

“Was it?” Tang Yi asked.

“You’d think you’d be able to tell by now when someone is interested in you,” Shao Fei muttered.

Tang Yi’s grin only widened.

A moment later, the same man approached the table to deliver their drinks. He gently placed Tang Yi’s tea in front of him, but then was so careless with Shao Fei’s drink that the whole thing nearly ended up in his lap.

“I’m so sorry!” the waiter said, obviously embarrassed that he couldn’t stop looking at Tang Yi long enough to do his job. He hastily grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table and began to dab at Shao Fei with it.

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it,” Shao Fei said. He couldn’t help feeling some commiseration and pity for the poor guy who was doomed to get rejected by Tang Yi. And fine, maybe he was also a little smug that he, Meng Shao Fei, was the one allowed to court Tang Yi. Because of that, he could afford to be the bigger man. “Really, it’s no problem.”

He raised his eyebrows at Tang Yi, a silent _see what I mean?_ Tang Yi pressed a hand over his mouth to hide a smile, amused that Shao Fei's jeans were almost made collateral damage by this guy’s crush on Tang Yi.

“See what I mean?” he voiced out loud when the man finally left them alone.

Tang Yi took a measured sip from his teacup and nodded as he placed it back on the saucer. “I guess I missed what was right in front of me.”

“No kidding,” Shao Fei agreed and then dropped the subject.

When the food came out fifteen minutes later, the man managed to put all the plates on the table without incident. Shao Fei was about to dig in when he noticed him still standing there.

“Yes?” Shao Fei asked, a dumpling already halfway to his mouth.

“To apologize for earlier, I brought you this. You didn’t order it, but I think that you might like it. That you two might like it,” the waiter amended, belatedly remembering to include Shao Fei in the apology. He placed a shrimp omelet in the middle of the table.

Was this how life always was for Tang Yi? People getting so flustered by his good looks that they threw free food at him?

Shao Fei gave Tang Yi a beat, then two, to respond. When he made no attempt to, Shao Fei decided to put the man out of his misery.

“Thank you,” he said. He cut into the omelet and scooped half of it onto Tang Yi’s empty plate. “Have some,” he ordered pointedly.

“What about you?” the man asked.

Shao Fei took a forkful and shoved it into his mouth. He gave the man a closed-mouth smile as he chewed and hoped that would be enough to make him leave.

“Finally,” Shao Fei mumbled when he went back to the counter. To Tang Yi, he said, “Forget the omelet, you have to try these dumplings. I promise they’re amazing.”

They ended up with far more food than they could eat, but Shao Fei wasn’t about to let it go to waste. He asked for containers to take it back with them and was unsurprised when they came with a small piece of paper with the waiter’s name and phone number on it.

He waited until they left the restaurant to hand it over to Tang Yi.

“This is for you,” he said.

Tang Yi took the paper. He glanced down at it and then up at Shao Fei. Then he crumpled it into a ball and dropped it on the ground.

“Kuan-yu will be so upset,” Shao Fei commented, knowing his voice conveyed how little he cared.

“Mm,” Tang Yi agreed. “How about if you let me make you soup dumplings from now on, and we don’t have to deal with him again?”

“Sounds good to me,” Shao Fei said.

* * *

4.

Tang Yi had been in jail for going on two months. Shao Fei was still learning how to go about his everyday life without him. His sentence was for two years, but Shao Fei hoped that they could get that reduced if Tang Yi kept his head down and was a model inmate.

For now, though, his whole life felt like it was thrown off-kilter, and it didn’t help matters when Shao Fei walked into the coffeeshop down the street from his apartment to see a new person behind the counter.

He looked like a uni student and was a far cry from the sweet aunty who had served him his coffee every morning for years.

“Good morning,” the kid said as he entered.

“Good morning,” Shao Fei returned. “You’re new.”

“I started this week. The last person who worked this shift retired,” he said. “I’m Zhihao.”

“Shao Fei,” he replied. “You’ll be seeing a lot of me.”

His coffee tasted as good as it always had, even if it came without the usual dose of motherly affection. But he supposed it was good that she could finally retire. She was a grandmother, clearly getting on in age, though Shao Fei had enough sense to never ask for an exact number.

Three days later, Shao Fei was back at the coffeeshop, and this time he noticed that Zhihao had a Criminology textbook behind the counter with him.

“Are you studying Criminology?” Shao Fei asked.

“Yeah, I’m planning to become a police officer,” he replied.

Shao Fei grinned and told him, “I’m a police officer.”

Zhihao’s eyes widened in excitement. “Really?”

Shao Fei opened his wallet and showed the kid his badge.

Zhihao leaned over the counter to look at it and then laughed a bit. “You’ve doomed yourself, Officer Meng. I’m going to pick your brain every time I see you now.”

“I don’t mind,” Shao Fei said honestly, “as long as you keep making my coffee this good.”

Zhihao put a hand to his heart. “Deal.”

*

Shao Fei was thankful for his decision to stay in his apartment instead of Tang Yi’s home while Tang Yi served his time. He couldn’t bear to live in that big, empty house alone. All of the pieces of Tang Yi scattered around would be a torment instead of a comfort.

But now, when things went wrong on a routine drug bust, he didn’t have to deal with Zuo Hong Ye and Tang Yi’s men telling Tang Yi and making him worry over nothing. Shao Fei insisted on going to a normal hospital instead of seeing Doctor Jiang. He made Zhao Zi promise not to say anything to Jack.

It was only a sprained wrist. Shao Fei had to have it bandaged and in a sling for a week, but he’d be just fine after that. There was nothing Tang Yi could do about it, and therefore no reason to let him know.

Shao Fei was on desk duty until he could be cleared by medical, so he decided that an extra-large coffee would be necessary to make it through the day.

When he walked into the coffeeshop the first morning after he got his sling, Zhihao stopped what he was doing to talk to him.

“Officer Meng! What happened to you?” he asked.

Shao Fei rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Just a sprain,” he assured the kid. “I tried to make an arrest, and the guy had a knife up his sleeve. It’s my own fault for not being on my guard. I deflected the knife, but slammed my wrist into the corner of a table.”

“How long do you have to wear that thing?” Zhihao asked.

“Sling comes off in a week and the bandage probably a week after that. Not a big deal. But that’s why a police officer always needs to be aware of their surroundings,” Shao Fei said, hoping to at least use his accident as a learning tool for the university student.

“Did you arrest the guy, at least?”

Shao Fei scoffed. “No, that’s the worst part.” And if he was planning on doing a little after hours vigilante work in order to fix that, despite being off active duty, then the Chief didn’t need to know.

“What did the perp do?” Zhihao asked.

Shao Fei held back a smile at the kid’s attempt at cop talk. “Member of a drug cartel. We got him alone, but he jumped out a second story window and managed to escape.”

“Wow, should I tell my mom and sister to be careful?” he asked.

“They should always be careful,” Shao Fei answered, “but you don’t have to worry about this. It was all the way up near Fisherman’s Wharf.”

“Ok, that’s good.” Zhihao handed him his coffee and waved away his attempt to pay. “It’s on me today, Officer Meng.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Shao Fei insisted.

“Just take the free coffee and go,” Zhihao said.

Shao Fei didn’t have it in him to keep arguing, so instead he took a fortifying sip and said, “Thanks.”

*

Two days later, Wu Hsieh was thrown out of a black van right in front of the station. He was hog-tied and gagged, with a broken wrist and a note pinned to his shirt detailing where they could find a storage unit full of drugs, weapons, and ammunition.

Wu was no help in figuring out who had kidnapped him. Security footage outside of the precinct and the storage unit revealed nothing. The contract on the unit was a dead end as well.

The prevailing theory was that it had to be one of his cartel buddies cleaning house, but either way, someone stole Shao Fei’s idea of taking matters into his own hands.

*

Shao Fei visited Tang Yi every Friday. On the one that fell after his injury, he took off his sling and hid his wrist inside of a bulky knit sweater with long sleeves.

He sat on the other side of the glass and waited impatiently for Tang Yi to arrive. Every week had started to feel like a month, and his half an hour Friday visits were the only thing that Shao Fei looked forward to.

The door to the visiting room opened and Tang Yi walked in. His hair was getting longer and beginning to fall into his eyes. He was gorgeous.

Shao Fei waved through the soundproof glass, the phone already up to his ear. Tang Yi gave him a small smile and sat in the chair on the other side.

“Tang Yi,” Shao Fei greeted.

“Ah Fei,” Tang Yi replied. “Let me see your wrist.”

Shao Fei jumped in his seat and his mouth dropped open. “How the hell do you know about that?”

Tang Yi didn’t answer. His eyes zoned in on Shao Fei’s covered wrist.

“It’s nothing,” Shao Fei said as he rolled up his sleeve and showed him the bandage. “Only a sprain. Who told you? Jack? I made Zhao Zi promise not to say anything to him.”

“You need to be more careful,” Tang Yi admonished while still not answering the question.

“It was a dumb mistake, but no harm done,” Shao Fei said.

“Except to you,” Tang Yi added.

Shao Fei waved that away. “It’s nothing, I said. And anyway, we even got the guy. He...ended…up...” Shao Fei squinted at Tang Yi, who stared back at him evenly. “What did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Tang Yi!” Shao Fei cried. “Was that you?”

Tang Yi raised his manacled arms as if to say _look where I am_. “I don’t know what you could be referring to, but whatever it is, I guarantee I have an alibi.”

Shao Fei took a deep breath to continue the argument, but Tang Yi shot him a significant look, and Shao Fei recalled where they were and that their conversation was being recorded.

“Fine,” he said.

“I love you,” Tang Yi said.

Shao Fei softened, even though he knew he was being manipulated. “I love you too.”

* * *

5.

The moment that Tang Yi stepped out of the jailhouse a free man, Meng Shao Fei let out the breath he’d been holding for eighteen months.

Tang Yi hugged his sister and shook Dao Yi’s hand, and then he was on Shao Fei, kissing him like a dying man. Within seconds, Shao Fei found himself laid out in the back seat of the car, with a desperate Tang Yi heavy and real on top of him and Hong Ye and Dao Yi in the front seats.

“Everything’s taken care of, boss,” Dao Yi said.

Tang Yi grunted an affirmative against Shao Fei’s mouth. Shao Fei was about to ask _what_ was taken care of, but then Tang Yi latched onto his neck and every other thought scattered out of his head.

“I want it known that this is the _last time_ I’m ever doing this,” Zuo Hong Ye announced. “Ugh.”

*

“I thought we were...having dinner,” Shao Fei gasped as they fumbled their way up the stairs. He’d already lost his shirt and Tang Yi’s big hands were working on his pants.

“Got it covered,” Tang Yi said.

“Wha…?” Shao Fei asked.

Then they burst through the bedroom doors and Tang Yi tossed him on the bed with ease. Shao Fei went up on his elbows to watch Tang Yi shed his clothes.

And maybe it should have been embarrassing that the sight of his boyfriend stripping out of his boxer briefs is what finally brought tears to Shao Fei’s eyes, but he was too far gone to be concerned with anything like shame.

“Tang Yi,” he said, and his voice cracked perilously on the second syllable. “Tang Yi, come here. I need to touch you.”

Tang Yi tossed the last of his clothes away and crawled across the bed until his body covered Shao Fei’s. Then he tucked his face against Shao Fei’s neck and took a long, shaky breath.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered directly into Shao Fei’s ear.

Shao Fei wrapped his arms around Tang Yi’s back.

“I’ve missed you too,” he said. Then he nudged Tang Yi’s shoulder until he looked up at him. “I’m ready for you to start making it up to me.”

Tang Yi grinned, a slow, sexy, dangerous thing that made Shao Fei’s stomach drop in excitement.

“Oh yes?” Tang Yi said and Shao Fei felt a hand reach between their bodies and slide down.

*

He didn’t know how much later, Shao Fei laid on their bed with his head on Tang Yi’s chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

“I really am hungry, Tang Yi,” he said.

Tang Yi stopped running his hand through Shao Fei’s hair and said, “Alright.”

Then he rolled out of bed. Shao Fei made to follow him, but Tang Yi held a hand out to stop him.

“Stay right there,” he commanded.

Shao Fei, whose body was pleasantly sore from the first sex he’d had in a year and a half, didn’t argue. He expected Tang Yi to put on his pants and slippers and run down to the kitchen, but instead he started moving around the bedroom.

“What are you doing?” Shao Fei asked. He sat up, wincing slightly, and gaped when he saw what he’d missed earlier.

Tang Yi’s room was enormous, of course, but now Shao Fei noticed that along the south wall, a long table had been set up. On it sat bowls of fresh fruit and nuts as well as a hot box. Dishes and cutlery were set out on the end. Next to the table was a small refrigerator.

Shao Fei began to laugh.

“Tang Yi, are we moving into this room?” he asked.

“Yes,” Tang Yi answered simply. “Your belongings have already been put away.” He waved in the direction of the closet.

The hot box contained two covered dishes. Tang Yi transferred both of them to a small, wheeled table like you’d get from ordering room service at a hotel and pushed it to the bed. Then he went back and grabbed two bottles of water out of the refrigerator, along with two pairs of chopsticks.

“People want to see you now that you’re out,” Shao Fei said.

“Anyone not in this room will have to wait at least a week for that,” Tang Yi said.

“A week…!” Shao Fei sputtered, feeling his ears burn red. 

Tang Yi uncovered a dish and revealed a mound of steaming scallion pancakes. The other dish was full of beef noodles. He tore off a piece of a scallion pancake and put it up to Shao Fei’s mouth. Shao Fei opened up and chewed the savory pancake as Tang Yi spoke.

“Neither of us are putting on clothes until next Monday,” he declared as he placed a kiss on Shao Fei’s shoulder. “I have spent every day of the last eighteen months thinking about the things I want to do to you, and we aren’t leaving this room until I do them all.”

Shao Fei’s breath caught in his throat. “Yes,” he whispered, his eyes widening and mouth going slack with lust. "Yes."

Tang Yi fed Shao Fei another piece of pancake and rubbed his thumb over Shao Fei’s bottom lip.

“Eat now,” Tang Yi said. He twisted the cap off of a bottle of water. “Here.”

Shao Fei drank half the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He froze when he saw the way that Tang Yi watched him. 

“Tang Yi?” he asked. 

“I’m going to devour you,” he answered, and it sounded like a promise.

Shao Fei rolled the table away. He met Tang Yi’s hot gaze with his own, and with deliberate movements, he laid back on the pillows and raised his arms over his head. 

“Go on then,” he said and settled in.

**Author's Note:**

> The names chosen for this fic were semi-educated guesses, so hopefully they're ok. 
> 
> And yes, the sweet old lady from the cafe that Shao Fei was so fond of suddenly and mysteriously came into a good sum of money that was enough for her to stop working and still take care of her grandkids.
> 
> Consider this blanket permission to use this story for any remix, podfic, translation, fanart or other transformative work you'd like, but please inform me, credit me and provide me any links so that I can include it in the notes.
> 
> Join me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/theres-a-goldensky)!


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